Minutes 7th April 2009

CRYSTAL PALACE & NORWOOD CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

Minutes of Main Meeting, 7th April 2009, Alistair’s Café, Westow Street
Those present:

Ray Hall* (New Crystal Palace, chair)
Andrew Parfitt* (Honorary Secretary)
Phil Alexis (Myjumbie.com)
Ramesh Appadoo (Grand Bay)
Matt Atkinson (Full Spectrum)
Vivienne Bartholomew (Vien)
Matthew Ball (Electron Repro Ltd)
Kathryn Bonds (Phoenix Community Centre and Chutzpah – Mint Jewellery and Silver)
Hannah Bougen (Full Spectrum)
Marcus Camarotte (Braziliana)
Marianna Camarotte (Braziliana)
Kevin Carleton-Reeves (transport consultant)
Katrina Gillard (guest, LocalSkillSwap)
John Greatrex* (Sainsburys)
Jerry Green (Haynes Lane Market)
Jason Hadden (guest, Parliamentary Candidate, Croydon North)
Jenny Hall (guest)
Mervyn Hing (Silk Route)
Philip Hinton (Hair by Jay Michaels)
Phil Kenny (Zabadoo Collectables)
Frank Lissimore* (Amphlett Lissimore)
Karen Moran (guest, Crystal Palace Foundation)
Sue Nagle* (Bambinos)
Ahmet Rashit (Alistairs Café Restaurant)
Gulen Rashit (Alistairs Café Restaurant)
Jonathan Rowlandson (Jonathan Rowlandson Design)
Silke Rudolph* (The Massage Practice)
Tim Sharville (Mango Swiss)
Joan Vernette (Friends Hair & Beauty)

* Management Committee

Apologies

Sarah Dacre* (Amphlett Lissimore)
Cllr George Filbey* (LB Croydon)
Mark McLaughlan* (The White Hart)
Stan Morris* (Shine Bright)
Gavin Rookledge (Rook’s Books)
Andy Stem (Bambino’s)
Jane Watt (JAG Contemporary Design)

1.0. Introduction

Ray welcomed all to Alistairs and thanked Ahmet and Gulen for making their charming café available and for providing delicious refreshments.

Ray introduced two of his guests: Katrina Gillard, from LocalSkillSwap and Karen Moran from the Crystal Palace Foundation.

The minutes of the 10th March meeting were approved as a fair record. In response to a point raised, Andrew clarified that the reference to “it is a positive step forward that Bromley planning colleagues approved in December 2008 the LDA’s application to build 180 homes in the park” represents the view of Stephen Carr rather than that of the Chamber.

2.0. Reports

2.1. Stephen Carr (Leader of Bromley Council)

Ray said that Stephen had been very impressed by his visit to the Chamber’s previous meeting, which he described as “extremely good”. It was a great atmosphere, with around 60 people present, and Stephen appreciated the Chamber’s careful listening and mature reception. Stephen also welcomed the Chamber’s support for the New Crystal Palace.

Ray said that he is taking forward discussions with Bromley about the potential for a pedestrian crossing in Church Road, knowing that Cllr George Filbey is progressing the proposal with Croydon. Stephen is being very supportive, briefing his highways people. Stephen is also keen for Bromley to work jointly with Croydon on this and other issues affecting the two boroughs.

2.2. Decision of the London Development Agency (LDA)

Ray said that for the past five years the LDA had had an option on controlling the future use of the top site of Crystal Palace Park, which had been excluded from their masterplan. On 31st March 2009 they allowed this option to expire. As a result, LB Bromley is the sole owner of the site. This is very important for the New Crystal Palace: Ray feels like Humphrey Bogart in The African Queen, finally emerging from the swamp. Ray said that he has a very good relationship with Bromley and that the support of the Chamber and its members for the New Crystal Palace means a huge amount.

2.3. Business Partnership and Town Centre Manager

Ray noted that the Crystal Palace Business Partnership has now closed down, that its Church Road office is shut and that the post of Town Centre Manager is vacant. He commended the hard work by Gavin Rookledge in leading the Partnership and Croydon Enterprise in building up its network of 180 businesses.

Ray said that Sharon Baldwin from Croydon Enterprise envisages the revitalised Chamber of Commerce as the main voice of business in the area. Sharon is looking to make available the database of the business partnership, and she will encourage its members to become members of the Chamber. Also, she is hoping to allow the Chamber to use the Croydon Enterprise premises in Church Road for its monthly management committee meetings and as a postal address.

Ray said that it is also envisaged that the Chamber will input into the brief for the new Town Centre Manager, and be invited to put forward names of potential candidates. This means that the Chamber is developing a good relationship with Croydon as well as Bromley. Over time, Ray’s aim is to foster similar close links with Lambeth, Southwark and Lewisham, so that the five boroughs are brought together to give the best possible support to the business community in Crystal Palace.

2.4. Move Up a Gear: Forthcoming Chamber meetings

Wednesday 6th May: “Dare to Dream” Actual Proposals

Ray said that members will be asked to bring forward ideas about how we would improve the local area, for instance:

• The Town Centre Manager
• One-Way System
• Parking
• Pedestrian Crossings
• Markets
• Festivals
• Welcoming visitors
• Promoting our different languages and cultures
• Preserving and enhancing the natural and built environment
• Celebrating our history
• Links with other business networks
• Cross-borough networks
• Promoting the identity of Crystal Palace

Tuesday 2nd June: Cultural and Business Olympiad

Ray said that the focus will be on the cultural and business Olympiad of 2012. The aim of this initiative is to get London to come alive with festivals and other events, and Ray hoped to get someone from the Olympic Delivery Authority along to the meeting to explain more about it. Ray will also invite business network specialists: our goal is to be well connected with all possible sources of advice and support.

Tuesday7th July: Croydon Night

Ray is hoping that Steve O’Connell (GLA member for Croydon & Sutton) and Councillors George Filbey and Pat Ryan will be able to attend this meeting. It will provide an opportunity to hear the latest news on the Town Centre Manager and to elaborate on our emerging ideas about the way forward.

2.5. A Total Solution for Crystal Palace

Ray said that our goal should be a total solution for Crystal Palace – enhancing its business and residential community - and he encouraged all members to provide ideas, whether by email or at meetings, so that we can all make this happen. Part of our longer-term goal will be to invite Boris to visit Crystal Palace and learn about the area – the process is beginning.


3.0. Main Item: Five Minutes of Fame

Ray invited a range of local business people to make short presentations:

3.1. Silke Rudolph (The Massage Practice)
http://www.themassagepractice.co.uk/
Silke said that she established her practice 12 months ago, after 2½ years of training for the professional qualifications. She offers a wide range of treatments: holistic and Swedish massage; deep-tissue therapeutic massage, pregnancy massage and seated on-site massage, and by the summer she should also be qualified for sports massage. Besides appointments at her treatment room in Mowbray Road, she provides home and office visits, and can also offer teaching.

Silke has lived in Crystal Palace for 4 ½ years and really loves it. She uses local businesses as far as possible, for instance for her logo and website. She has also been working with people with disabilities in association with The British Home, Crown Lane.

She can be very flexible in taking appointments, offers free consultation and guarantees that the massage itself will last for the full duration of the appointment.

3.2. Matt Atkinson (Full Spectrum Integration)
http://www.fullspectrum.co.uk/
Matt runs a business from his home in Hamlet Road. It designs smart homes, based on audio-visual systems, which integrate lighting, IT and security features. By this means, a person is able to access remotely the electrics and heating in their home. The home can learn the behaviour of its occupants, allowing this to be emulated in “vacation mode”. Another advantage is that the systems eliminate wall clutter: all devices can be accessed from a single small touch panel in each room. A current focus is on starting to integrate environmental technologies into the systems, particularly those relating to thermal efficiency.

Matt has two full-time employees and also makes use of freelance engineers. Hannah Bourgen, his partner, has recently begun to work with him too. Most of the business comes via the internet or personal referral.

The business offers a full spectrum of equipment. For instance, he has recently installed a hi-fi system for a couple of Chamber members for £600, and can offer home systems for as little as £2,000. But beyond that the stratosphere is the limit: Matt has worked for people such as Mick Jagger, Madonna and Richard Wilson, and is currently doing an installation for a Russian oligarch in John Lennon’s former house in St George’s Hill.

3.3. Marianna Camarotte (Braziliana)

Marianna set up her business a few months ago with her husband and three other Brazilian guys. The aim is to bring Brazilian products to the UK and in particular the 300,000 Brazilians who live in London. They also look to introduce Brazilian culture and a nice warm welcoming place to the local community, bringing “a little bit on sunshine to Crystal Palace”. For instance, during the recent Easter festival they offered Brazilian dance classes.

They try and work very closely with the local community with local sourcing where possible. Everyone can win if we work together. Everyone is welcome.

Marianna lives locally. Her research had found that most of the Portuguese-speaking community in London lives south of the river, especially in areas such as Lambeth, Streatham, Norwood, Beckenham and Bromley. So Crystal Palace makes an ideal central location for the business.

Parking has been an issue: customers have been fined for using the loading bays. But apart from that, all is positive - it has been good to feel part of the local community in the Triangle.

3.4. Matthew Ball (Electron Repro)

Electron Repro is based in Cooper’s Yard, off Westow Hill behind Iceland. Matt’s business partner, John, has been established there for 25 years; Matt joined about 8 years ago, and has been in the printing trade for 17 years.

The firm has its roots in a traditional business making aluminium plates for printing machines. More recently it has been diversifying into digital print of all kinds. Besides business cards and leaflets, they can do a particularly wide range of techniques, sizes and formats, including litho printing, signage for shops, etching and Perspex cutting.

Recently they have been raising their profile and they are very keen to work closely with local companies.

3.5. Mervyn Hing (Silk Route)
http://www.silkroutedrycleaners.co.uk/home.htm
Ray introduced Mervyn by congratulating him on shaping the foundation of the Chamber during the time when he was the chairman. Mervyn thanked Ray and members of the Chamber for their warm hearts.

Mervyn said that he owns Silk Route at the corner of Westow Hill and Crystal Palace Parade. Besides dry cleaning, it can also offer access to services such as bespoke tailors, shirt-makers and dress-making. But he would focus his talk on the secrets of dry cleaning.

Mervyn said that the essential point about dry cleaning is that it is wet, not dry. Clothes are treated with petroleum derivatives, special products being used to remove the four generic types of stain (protein, oil-based, tannin and rust). Particular care is needed when dealing with stains from an amalgam of types, such as white coffee. Mervyn outlined a wide range of chemicals used to treat stains past and present, including hydrofluoric acid. In recent years, there has been something of a worldwide tussle between dry cleaning businesses and health and safety regulators. The latter have an irritating habit of banning products which actually work.

Silk Route’s customers come from all over London, such as Woolwich, Hampstead and South Kensington. But parking and loading is a terrible problem: Mervyn is sometimes to be seen buried beneath heaps of clothes as he makes his way to and fro between his shop and the loading bay in Jasper Road. The three improvements he would like to see in the area, besides an efficient traffic system, are “Courage, Integrity and Ability”.

3.6. Tim Sharville (MangoSwiss)
http://www.mangoswiss.com/
Tim and his nephew, Kevin Monk, have been developing their local web and design business. For instance, they have been doing work for the NHS and RNIB, such as on-line applications for the partially-sighted.

Tim and Kevin have continued to build up the Crystal Palace local business directory http://www.crystalpalacelocal.co.uk/, which gives small businesses and other organisations a web presence. This free service is updated to Google each day and helps people make closer professional and social links within the business and wider community. They are about to launch Stage 2 which will also cover news and events.

Croydon Enterprise is considering whether to register the business directory as a social enterprise, which would strengthen its financial underpinning. They are also keen for the site to be launched more widely, including Dulwich and South Norwood.

All applauded all the presenters for their contributions to the community, wishing them every success in the future.

3.7. Jason Hadden (Parliamentary Candidate for Croydon North, Conservative Party)

The Chamber is apolitical, but Ray noted that to get things changed, we need to engage with local politicians from all the main parties.

Jason said how he pleased he is to be with us. He is full of praise for the great sense of community in the local area. He has recently launched the Save Our Shops (SOS) campaign – we need to support our local shops, for small businesses are the heartbeat of what we are doing. We don’t want High Streets boarded up or turned into residential developments.

Also, Jason wants to listen to how he could help. He has sent out surveys to 40,000 residents of North Croydon. The responses showed that, besides crime and litter, parking – especially on High Streets – is a particular problem. He realises things are very tough for lots of people. We need to do something to help people through the process, such as freezing business rates for 2009/10.

He would welcome comments on how he could help to his email address: Jason@jasonhadden.co.uk.

Jason said he thinks it is fantastic what the Chamber of Commerce is doing. It is very refreshing that there is lots of enthusiasm to get the place buzzing. He would like to open up empty shops to people to have the opportunity to display arts and crafts - and the one-way system and parking restrictions seem like lunacy – with even the limited parking available inadequately signed.

In relation to Crystal Palace Park, he is “100% against” housing – it sets a dangerous precedent. On the top site and the New Crystal Palace he has an open mind.

Ray thanked Jason for attending the meeting and welcomed his interest in the local area.

4.0. Any Other Business

Antiques and Collectors Fair
http://www.phoenixcrystalpalace.org/index.html
Kathryn Bonds said that the regular antique and collectors fairs at the Phoenix Centre, Westow Street, are continuing. The next would be on 19th April, followed by a May Fair Special on 4th May. Over 20 stalls are filled already for the April fair and about a dozen are still available at £15 per table. Following a break for the summer, the fairs would recommence in September.


UNIT meeting 15th April

John Greatrex issued an open invitation to the next meeting of the Upper Norwood Improvement Trust (UNIT) which will be held in the Queen’s Hotel on 15th April at 6.30 p.m.; not only an interesting meeting, but the best view in Crystal Palace.

Rent increases

Philip Hinton raised the issue of rent increases and whether businesses could take any direct action. Frank Lissimore pointed out that upward-only rent reviews did not necessarily mean rents had to rise; landlords could be persuaded to keep them unchanged if businesses could provide supporting evidence such as the rents paid by leaseholders of similar premises. Tim Sharville said he would consider whether the Crystal Palace local business directory could be the basis for a forum to share such information. It was agreed that Philip, Frank and Tim would discuss further what advice could be provided to help local businesses.

5.0. Date of Next Main Meeting

Wednesday 6th May, 6.30 for 6.45 p.m.: venue to be confirmed.